A teacher in the U.K. is being hailed a hero by her students — and the internet.
Mrs. Thom teaches sixth graders at Bucklebury Primary School in a town in Berkshire, England. Like many schools here in the U.S., students in her class faced a big, scary end-of-the-year test.
The weekend before that test, Mrs. Thom handed out an unusual homework assignment: A list of activities to help students relax.
Suggestions on the list ranged from smiling to going on a bike ride to eating ice cream. Mrs. Thom included a special reminder at the bottom of her assignment that says, "Mrs. Thom is in charge of worrying — you don’t need to."
A picture of her assignment was posted online and quickly went viral. And it didn’t take long for the school to come out in support of the teacher’s assignment. A letter on its website says, "Outcomes from tests at eleven years old do not dictate who you are or who you might become."
That philosophy certainly isn’t the outlook across the board. According to the BBC, a recent survey of 10- and 11-year-old students in England found almost 90 percent felt pressured to do well on tests.
And it seems that pressure takes a toll on parents, too. The Guardian reports parents across England planned to keep their kids home to avoid the mandated testing.
We're guessing Mrs. Thom might get a few extra apples on her desk after this homework assignment.
